


A Supermarket in Ohio

by Corinna



Category: Glee
Genre: Canon Compliant, Episode Related, M/M, Season/Series 06
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-21
Updated: 2015-01-21
Packaged: 2018-03-08 13:03:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3210176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corinna/pseuds/Corinna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“So weird, running into each other in the grocery store now like regular adults. But I guess that’s what happens.”</p><p>6x03 reaction fic from Kurt's perspective.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Supermarket in Ohio

**Author's Note:**

> With thanks to Wowbright and pene for beta-reading and arguments about the layouts of midwestern supermarkets.

His dad said, “Sure, Kurt, of course you can stay, as long as you need. Whenever you need it. But don’t think you’re getting out of doing chores while you’re here. Everyone pulls their own weight in this house.” Which Kurt knew was his dad’s way of saying _I’m worried you might get lost in feeling sad_. So he cleaned the bathroom and took out the trash and made dinner two nights a week. And today, when Carole asked, he took the shopping list to the Meijer’s out on Elida Road to buy their groceries for the week. 

He’d almost forgotten how huge Midwestern supermarkets could be: the towering shelves with every kind of cereal, the rows that stretched forever, a whole separate section devoted to home goods and small appliances and terrible, terrible clothing, not to mention a pharmacy bigger than any of the ones he’d used back in New York. It was a little overwhelming, but he focused on the list, and crossed each item off with a decisive black line.

He was in the “International” aisle, purchasing a few things he would need for his Salute to Chinatown dinner menu for Wednesday. He had almost resigned himself to not being able to find dried tree-ear mushrooms at a megamart in Ohio when he heard a familiar voice behind him. “Hey, Kurt.”

Kurt was weary and stressed and not finding the ingredients he needed for a simple hot and sour soup, so of course that was when he ran into Blaine again. Who looked perfect, dressed for the weekend in a cardigan and polo Kurt recognized, and smiling a little smile that had maybe _(maybe?)_ just a hint of regret around the edges. Kurt swallowed hard and smiled back. “Hey. Fancy meeting you here.”

Blaine shrugged. “It’s what Sunday is for, I guess. How’s it going?”

Even at their worst, it had never felt awkward to have a conversation with Blaine. But now everything Kurt did felt wrong: his shoulders were tight and his face felt weird, and his voice sounded strained in his ears. “Oh, fine. Fine. Yeah. I’m just rethinking some of my more elaborate stir-fry ideas.”

Blaine took in the sad shelves of soy sauce. “Yeah,” he agreed. “It’s not like you can just stop at that place on Lorimer.”

It was like Blaine realized his mistake as soon as he said it, because he went stiff and awkward too. Kurt looked down at his perfectly polished boots and tried not to think about the restaurant wholesale store that had sold them bok choy and lemongrass, kaffir limes and black bean sauce, for their various culinary experiments. How they would sit over dinner and discuss how the meal had gone, and what they could do better next time. Funny how they couldn’t manage that anywhere else. 

“They didn’t have the — oh, hey, Kurt.” 

And of course Blaine wasn’t there alone. Karofsky. Kurt raised his eyes and gave the best smile he could manage. “Hi, Dave.”

“So weird, running into each other in the grocery store now like regular adults. But I guess that’s what happens.” Karofsky threw his beefy arm around Blaine’s shoulders. Kurt tried not to let the nausea show. 

“I guess it does.”

“Blaine and I are —”

“Dave,” Blaine said softly. He put a hand on Karofsky’s hip.

“It’s okay,” Kurt said. “Brittany told me. You guys moved in together! I guess you have a whole new kitchen to stock. That’s great.” His mouth felt numb, but he forced the words out. “Really great for you guys.”

“Thanks, man.” The happiness in Karofsky’s expression was infuriating. 

“Well, I...” Kurt took a deep breath. “I think I’m going to have to change my dinner menu to something a little less adventurous. So, if you’ll excuse me, gentlemen.” He gripped the handle of his cart and pushed it down the aisle, going as fast as he could without being obvious. When he came to the end he turned left, going one aisle back to where he’d already been, so he wouldn’t run into Blaine and Karofsky again. He needed to collect himself. 

Being back in Lima was hard enough: so many memories, so many ghosts. He and Blaine had made each other miserable at the end, but it was so much worse without him. And then to have to see Blaine with David Karofsky — Karofsky, who still made the occasional guest appearance in Kurt’s nightmares. He knew he had to keep going, keep trying, get out there and buy Carole her goddamned garbanzo beans, but the weight of his remorse and his anger rooted him where he stood. He took a deep breath and counted to five.

“Kurt?”

It was Blaine again, this time without his cart. Kurt pushed himself up from the shelf he’d been leaning on and put on his best performance face. “Oh, hi. I was just, just pondering. What to make for dinner now.” 

“Kurt, I — I’m sorry you found out that way. You deserved... I wanted to tell you sooner, but things have been so tense because of show choir. There was never a good time for it. But you shouldn’t have heard about this second-hand.”

He thought about having Blaine sit across from him at the Lima Bean or Scandals and tell him the news so earnestly. For once, he was grateful for something Blaine hadn’t been able to say. “No, that’s all right. Really. Don’t worry about it.”

Blaine looked so relieved. Even now, he didn’t want to hurt Kurt — which only made it worse. “Thanks.”

Kurt wanted Blaine to leave him alone, but more than that he wanted Blaine to stay, just like this, just him. “Did you really ask Brittany to decorate?”

Blaine laughed a little, almost to himself. “Well, it wasn’t so much asked as she told me — us — that she would do it, and she would pay for everything. She was so excited. I still should have known better, though.”

“That bad?”

“It was like a gay pride parade threw up in there.”

Kurt couldn’t help laughing a little at that, and Blaine laughed too. For a moment it was almost easy.

“The sad part is,” Blaine said, “we’ll probably end up keeping it. Dave’s still in school, and Dalton only pays me a stipend; we can’t really afford to buy anything else.”

And there it was again: that _we_. The _we_ that should have been Blaine and Kurt, if Kurt hadn’t messed everything up. He wondered if they would sit at the kitchen table the way Kurt and Blaine used to, reviewing the bills and noting when they got paid. He wondered if Karofsky would argue Blaine about the electricity he wasted when he forgot to turn off his electronic keyboard before bed. Before he went to bed with David Karofsky. 

“I’m sure,” he managed. He sounded stiffer than he’d meant to.

Blaine frowned a little, and then shrugged. “Okay. Well, I’ll see you around, Kurt.”

“See you,” Kurt said. Blaine turned to go, and Kurt stood and watched the love of his life walk away.

It took him a few minutes to feel ready to go back to his shopping list, but there were still more aisles to go down in the Meijer’s, and about half of the things on the shopping list left to find. Not to mention he needed a new dinner plan for Wednesday. Kurt tried to make himself think about that: a shrimp dish, maybe? A vegetarian casserole? Brittany had liked the vegetable pasta bake he made when she stayed at the loft. If he’d known she would buy Blaine and his next boyfriend their furniture, he might not have fed her at all.

 _Move on,_ she’d told him. But how could Kurt move on when Blaine was so much a part of him? He’d thought once that if he could just have space from Blaine, he’d be happy. But now he had all the space he needed, and he only wanted Blaine to sleep in his arms again. He was committed: he’d do the work with his therapist to be the partner he wanted to be. But what if he’d ruined things beyond repair? 

Maybe there could be some next guy, someone he could love the way he hadn’t loved Adam or anyone else. Maybe in time he could stop being the melted chocolate in Brittany’s weird metaphor, the guy who gave up after his first love stopped loving him back. It was hard to imagine it now, sharing his life with someone else the way Blaine was sharing his with Karofsky, but if he believed in second chances for his dad and for Rachel, he had to believe in them for himself as well. Some day, he told himself with a firm nod of his head, he wouldn’t feel so raw, and then he could find someone new. 

He was almost convinced when he came to the long butcher’s counter, and of course there were Blaine and Karofsky again. 

Karofsky was ordering something, joking with the white-coated man behind the counter, and Blaine was watching them talk. He looked... he looked _happy_ , Kurt had to admit. Blaine looked happy and content with David Karofsky. 

And that was the heart of it, wasn’t it, he thought as he steamed determinedly past a cornucopia of canned vegetables. Blaine was happy with someone else. If Kurt loved him, and wanted to move on, then he needed to try to be happy for Blaine, no matter how much it hurt. He took a deep breath and headed over to the bakery section.

By the time Blaine and Karofsky finally made it through the checkout line, Kurt had had plenty of opportunities to rethink his plan, and he’d almost just left the store twice. But there he was, still waiting, as they came through the exit. Karofsky smiled at him unconvincingly. Blaine looked surprised. “Kurt. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. No. Absolutely.”

Blaine studied him carefully. “Dave, could we have a minute, please?”

Karofsky frowned in concern. “Yeah, okay. I’ll get the car. You sure?”

“No,” Kurt said, “you don’t have to.” He lifted the bright pink gift bag from his grocery cart. “This is —” He forced the words through his throat. “— for both of you.”

“Kurt, man, that’s really nice.” Karofsky’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Thank you.”

Blaine took the bag and opened it gingerly. He tilted the bag, and then his head, like he was trying to make the contents make sense.

“It’s a housewarming gift,” Kurt said. “Bread and salt and wine. It’s —”

“Like _It’s a Wonderful Life,_ ” Blaine said.

“Yes.” Kurt should have known Blaine would get the reference. “Maybe not entirely original, but I was improvising.”

“It’s a really thoughtful gift,” Blaine said. His voice was soft. “Thank you.”

“Well,” Kurt said. He tried to sound nonchalant. “What are friends for?”

Blaine smiled at him then, really smiled, and Kurt didn’t know how he could ever not be in love with him. 

“It’s very generous,” Karofsky said. “A little weird, but generous. You’ll have to come over and see the place once we’re more settled in.” He reached for Blaine’s hand. “That’ll be great.”

“Yeah, great,” Kurt said weakly. “Great.”

Blaine looked like he might say something else, but all he said was “We’ll see you around, Kurt.” The two of them headed off into the parking lot together.

When he closed the car door and was alone in the silence and privacy of it, Kurt half-expected the tears to start falling. Since he broke up with Blaine, he’d cried more than he had since — well, since Karofsky was bullying him and he tried to face it all alone. But this time, his eyes stayed dry. 

Maybe this was what moving on felt like: the shakiness and the anger and the bone-deep sorrow mixing with something else: a peace, almost. Maybe he could love Blaine for what they’d been to each other, and for the amazing man Kurt was still sure Blaine would be. Just not the same way. Not anymore. 

He turned the key in the ignition and headed for home.


End file.
